Howie Do Dat is somewhat of an oddball, even for the karaoke world. He splits his time between Arizona and New York, where he says he has “several ladies.” As we talk in his room at The Hotel Chelsea, he sits on the edge of the bed, fully clothed, the shower running in the bathroom. Steam fogs the windows.

“It helps me think,” says Howie. “It’s soothing. Especially when I’m hungover. For me that’s the best source of inspiration–a good, solid hangover, and a hot shower. Genius.”

For the next two hours, over some Brooklyn Lager, we hit on everything from his now infamous choke-up at the Karaoke World Championship in 2006, to his childhood in and out of hotels in Flagstaff, Arizona, to his career as the Western US Karaoke Champion.

Settlement Heart: I want to start with KWC 2006. What happened on that boat?

Howie Do Dat: Everybody wants to know what happened. My mother wants to know what happened. You know what? I won’t tell her. But I’ll tell you. I like you. It was the people. I’ve been competing at the KWC since 2003 and I’ve never seen such a sad bunch as the ones who were on that boat in Finland. They were an embarrassment to my profession. Yuppies. No heart. I refuse to give people like that the benefit of my talent.

SH: Some might say you were drunk…

HDD: It’s karaoke! Of course I was drunk.

SH: You swung the microphone like a lasso of truth.

HDD: I’m from Arizona.

SH: Flagstaff, right?

HDD: That’s right. I grew up living in hotels. My dad was a drug dealer. I remember the big black Mercedes from when I was real little. We had a nice life for a while until he went to prison. Then my mom went kinda nuts. She lives in a trailer park now around Eloy. I send her money every month. I send her my clippings. She’s proud of me.

[Part 2 next week]